Multimedia conferencing is becoming more and more popular in day-to-day operation of corporations. An organization can have a plurality of conferencing terminals and/or virtual meeting rooms. Some of the virtual meeting rooms include telepresence videoconferencing systems (TPVS). An exemplary TPVS can include a large conferencing table with a line of chairs along one side of the table. A video zone is located on the other side of the table, in front of the line of chairs. The video zone can include two or more video displays, adjacent to each other and two or more video cameras. In some exemplary TPVSs, the video zone, i.e., the displays and cameras, is adjusted to a certain arrangement of the table and the line of chairs. The video camera setup is adjusted to capture the conferees sitting along the other side of the table. The two or more video images are delivered to the other end or ends of the communication session, to be displayed over a video zone in the other end TPVS. The TPVS gives the impression that the conferees, located at the other side of the communication line and using another TPVS, are sitting in the same room around the conferencing table.
A regular videoconferencing endpoint is a terminal on a network, capable of providing real-time, two-way audio/visual/data communication with other terminals or a multipoint control unit (MCU). An MCU is a conference controlling entity that is typically located in a node of a network or in a terminal that receives several channels from endpoints. According to certain criteria, the MCU processes audio and visual signals and distributes them to a set of connected channels. Examples of MCUs include the MGC-100, RMX 2000, which are available from Polycom, Inc. MCUs can be composed of two logical units: a media controller (MC) and a media processor (MP). A more thorough definition of an endpoint (terminal) and an MCU can be found in the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) standards, such as but not limited to the H.320, H.324, and H.323 standards. Additional information regarding the ITU standards can be found at the ITU website. A terminal (which may be referred to as an endpoint) may provide speech and video; or speech, video and data communications, etc. Exemplary videoconferencing endpoints include Polycom VSX 7000, HDX 9004, by Polycom, Inc. Unlike a TPVS, a regular videoconferencing endpoint generally provides a single video stream and is associated with a single camera. In the disclosure, the terms image and video image may be used interchangeably.
Some video conferencing sessions involve some conferees using a TPVS while the other conferees are using a regular endpoint having one display. In a session wherein a TPVS is located in one end and a regular endpoint is located on the other end, only one camera out of the plurality of cameras located in the video zone of the TPVS is active and only its stream is transmitted, processed, and displayed over the display of the regular video conferencing endpoint. This decreases the capabilities of the TPVS each time a regular endpoint joins the conference call.
The video stream from each of the video cameras of a TPVS may be processed as a video stream of a videoconferencing endpoint. Each video stream is compressed according to compression standards used in video conferencing such as H.264, H.263, etc. Exemplary TPVSs include Polycom RPX or Polycom TPX by Polycom, Inc.
If an MCU is involved, the plurality of compressed video streams from a TPVS can be processed as separate video streams. Each stream can be handled as if it was received from an independent endpoint. Therefore, each stream can be displayed in a separate slot (window) in a layout of the other endpoint. Occasionally, the plurality of images may include overlay areas and/or portion of conferee's image.
There is a need in the art for a method and a system that improves the experience of the conferees that are using regular video conferencing endpoint while participating in a video conferencing session in which one or more of the other participants are using TPVS. Furthermore, such a system will prevent the unavoidable degeneration of the TPVS capabilities when at least one of the other endpoint is a regular endpoint.